The present invention relates to a machine-room-less elevator with at least one elevator car which travels in an elevator hoistway having an elevator control which controls at least the travel movements of the elevator, and with various elevator components which are installed in the elevator hoistway and must be periodically inspected, the elevator car having in at least one of its side walls at least one closable inspection and maintenance opening.
An elevator of the present type is known from JP 10 231074 A. A machine-room-less elevator is described in which the inspection and maintenance of the elevator components installed in the elevator hoistway or on the elevator car is made possible by there being in the side walls of the elevator car closable inspection and maintenance openings which are situated in the vicinity of the elevator components.
The solution to the problem of inspection and maintenance of machine-room-less elevators described above has the following disadvantages:
During the inspection of elevator components extending or distributed in large number over the entire height of the hoistway, such as guiderails, suspension ropes, overspeed governor rope, guiderail fasteners, and hoistway information emitters, through inspection and maintenance openings which are open during the necessary inspection trip, there is considerable danger to the inspecting person of their head, hands, or arms colliding with or being trapped by objects mounted in the hoistway.
There are no safety devices present which prevent an elevator trip or an inspection trip from taking place with open inspection and maintenance openings or ensure that the inspecting person cannot be present in the vicinity of such an opening during such a trip.
On inspection trips between the positions of individual elevator components to be inspected in the elevator hoistway, with closed inspection and maintenance openings accurately approaching these positions is difficult through lack of visibility into the elevator hoistway.
The objective of the present invention is therefore to propose an elevator concept which while making good use of the hoistway space and without safety space in the hoistway headroom makes inspection and maintenance of all elevator components arranged in the elevator hoistway possible. In doing so, especially the safety of the inspecting person is improved, the checking of elevator components extending or distributed in large number over the entire height of the hoistway is facilitated, and the approach to certain positions on inspection trips is simplified.
According to the invention, to fulfill this objective on an elevator of the type stated at the outset it is envisaged that a transparent inspection window or an inspection grille closes the at least one inspection and maintenance opening present in at least one side wall of the car.
The elevator according to the invention allows inspection and maintenance work to be performed on most elevator components arranged in the elevator hoistway from within the car. As well as good utilization of the cross-section of the hoistway space, especially the height of the hoistway headroom can be kept very small, since a safety space for the mechanic above the car is no longer required. The at least one transparent inspection window or inspection grille allows visual checking of the elevator components extending or distributed in large number over the entire height of the hoistway, as for example guiderails, suspension ropes, overspeed governor rope, guiderail fasteners, and hoistway information emitters, during the inspection trip, without a large opening in the car wall being necessary. In this manner maximum safety for the inspecting person is guaranteed. Furthermore, on inspection trips the at least one transparent inspection window or inspection grille simplifies the approach to hoistway positions suitable for the inspection of certain elevator components since it ensures visibility into the elevator hoistway as well as onto the elevator components.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the closed transparent inspection window or the inspection grille has at least one key-turned lock which must be unlocked by means of a key element before opening the inspection window or inspection grille. In this manner, opening of the transparent inspection window or of the inspection grille by unauthorized persons, and situations which are dangerous for passengers, are prevented.
In a manner expedient for safety, the closed state of the at least one transparent inspection window or of the inspection grille is monitored by an electric sensor and the corresponding signal conducted to the elevator control. Depending on the control program present, with unclosed inspection window or inspection grille, safety-relevant functions of the elevator such as, for example, normal trips, level-correction trips, or inspection trips, are disabled.
In a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the transparent inspection window consists in essence of a pane of laminated glass or a pane of suitable transparent plastic such as acrylic glass or plexiglass. A window frame is not required, and the necessary fastening, hinge, and locking components can be mounted directly onto the transparent window panes, preferably by bonding with adhesive or by a combination of bonding and bolting. This flat method of construction allows the inspection window to be built into the car wall without the window projecting either inwardly or outwardly beyond the car wall, and for it to be swiveled without problem on hinges out of a narrow space within the car wall into the interior of the car.
In a further embodiment of the invention, in normal operation the transparent inspection window or inspection grille is covered by a removable decoration or cladding element or by a mirror plate. In this manner the visual appearance of the car interior is unimpaired by the inspection window or the inspection grille, and the passengers"" feeling of safety is not negatively affected by the view into the elevator hoistway. Such plate-shaped elements are preferably fastened to the transparent inspection window or inspection grille by means of screws, or push-in pins with elastic diameter, or a combination of both.
Special advantages are achieved by transparent inspection windows or inspection grilles, which have one or more reach-through openings. Placed in suitable manner, these allow hands and arms to reach through the closed inspection window or inspection grille and to perform certain manipulations on elevator components, or to sense their state by touch. Although the reach-through openings are limited by their dimensions to the passage of hands and arms, many inspection and maintenance operations can be performed in great safety for the inspecting person without opening the entire inspection window or inspection grille. In this manner much inspection time can be saved.
An advantageous further development of the invention is that at least one sensor, for example a light barrier or a light curtain, monitors the at least one reach-through opening of an inspection window or inspection grille for projecting objects. The preferably electrical output signal of the sensor on detection of projecting objects causes the elevator control to prevent all travel movement of the elevator car.
According to a further embodiment of the elevator according to the invention, the wall of the elevator hoistway above the hoistway doors assigned to the uppermost stop of the elevator car has an opening which provides the inspecting person with vision onto the car door drive, the coupling device between car door and hoistway door, and the hoistway door lock, and also permits manual access to the aforementioned elements. This opening is necessary because inspection and maintenance of these elements in the uppermost area of the hoistway cannot be performed from the car roof as usual, due to the absence of safety space, and also not through openings in a car wall. The opening can be closed with an inspection door.
According to a further preferred embodiment of the invention, in the vicinity of the bottom end-position of the counterweight in the elevator hoistway, an arrester with a normal setting and with an arresting setting is installed. When positioned in the arresting setting, this gives support to the downward-traveling counterweight before it reaches its lower end-position, so that the counterweight-side suspension ropes are relieved. As a result of this relief, the transmissible traction force between the traction sheave and the suspension ropes is reduced to such an extent that the elevator car comes to a standstill before reaching its upper end-position. The arrester, positioned by the inspecting person according to need in the arresting setting, arrests the counterweight so far in advance of its lower end-position that in the space between the hoistway headroom and the car roof a sufficiently high safety space for a person is created. Such a safety space, which with the present machine-room-less elevator arrangement is not present in normal operation, is absolutely essential if an inspection or maintenance person must perform inspection trips on the car roof. This is especially advantageous for checking and maintaining the above-mentioned components in the vicinity of the door drive, since an opening in the hoistway wall as described above should as far as possible remain restricted to the uppermost floor for aesthetic reasons.
In yet a further embodiment of the elevator according to the invention, there is in the elevator car a command device for controlling inspection trips at reduced speed. It is advantageous for this to be equipped with an extension cable so that the inspection trips can be controlled from any position in the elevator car, so that visual inspection of elevator components through transparent inspection windows or inspection grilles during the inspection trip is possible. In normal operation the control device is preferably accommodated in a lockable compartment of the car control panel.
According to a further advantageous embodiment variant, the elevator control is so programmed that with unclosed inspection window or inspection grille, or when an object is projecting out of a reach-through opening, either no travel of the elevator car, or only an inspection trip at reduced speed, is possible. Such an inspection trip can only be commanded if on the command device for controlling inspection trips two buttons which cannot be reached simultaneously with the fingers of one single hand are actuated simultaneously for each trip. Such actuation therefore requires both hands, which ensures that no travel of the elevator can take place as long as one hand of the inspecting person is still outside the elevator car.